THE DARK KNIGHT LEGACY
Prologue
Mayor Garcia was thought to be killed in the explosion at the football game by Bane.
He wasn't.
Somehow he survived, but his face did not.
No longer able to be Mayor, Garcia turned to crime.
A questionable doctor in the underworld managed to fix his burns, but at a terrible cost:
He now had to wear a stone mask that kept his burns from showing.
The mask hid a breathing apparatus, similar to Bane's but smaller.
He had abandoned his former identity to become The Black Mask, Lord of The Gotham Underworld.
Batman had failed to save him, and now he wanted his revenge.
Chapter 1
Richard "Jason" Drake sat up at ths sounds in the hallway. He got out of bed, walking to his door.
Opening it just a crack, he managed to see John Blake moving downstairs.
"Where the heck is he going at 10 PM?" Jason wondered.
He pulled on a t-shirt, and then moved to follow Blake, his bare feet making less than a whisper of sound on the carpeted floor.
He followed Blake into the study, a room that was locked to the orphans.
He crouched behind the door as Blake pulled a book from the shelf. A book that, as it turned out was a lever.
The bookshelf slid away, revealing a lift.
Blake went into the lift, and it moved downstairs.
Jason moved into the room once Blake was gone.
Then he walked to the lift, waiting for it to return. It did not.
Jason sighed, and then leapt into the shaft, sliding down the pole like a fireman.
Landing on top of the lift, he managed to slide through a gap, into the room below.
It was a cave
"Holy…" Jason didn't mean to speak aloud but he did.
John Blake, who had been sitting at a desk across the walkway turned around, and walked towards Jason. He was dressed in a t-shirt and basketball shorts, his feet were bare
"What are you doing down here?" he demanded.
"I wanted to know where you were going." The 17-year old said.
"Well now that you've found out, you know I'm going to have to kill you." John said.
Jason smirked.
"You can't."
"I could. But I won't"
"So you're the New Batman?"
"Yes."
"Can I be your sidekick?"
"Why on earth would you want to be my sidekick?"
"The First Batman. He gave me a gadget 9 years ago. Then he saved me from The Scarecrow."
"I see. And your parents?"
"They were killed that night."
"Ah. You wanted to be like him from that moment forward."
"Yes. I've been living on the streets for 9 years. Then when Bruce Wayne died, the orphanage could finally take me in."
"I understand. You've had a rough life. If you want to be my sidekick, you're going to have to interview for it."
"Fine." Jason said. He sat in one of the Batcomputer's chairs, and John sat in the other.
"Name?"
"Richard Jason Drake."
"Age"
"17"
"Gang History?"
"None."
"Really?"
"I swear."
John sighed.
"I believe you. It's just… what did you do in your nine years on the street?"
"I wasn't truly on the street. I was just a foster home jumper. Moving from place to place. They say they 'understand' but they don't."
John nodded. He had said something similar to Bruce a year ago.
"Fine. What's your sidekick name?"
"Robin." Jason said.
"Robin?"
"Yes."
"Good Choice."
John knew it would be fine, since no one knew his real name except Bruce, who was dead now.
"Thanks." Jason said.
"Do you have a costume design in mind?"
Out of his pajama pocket, Jason pulled a sheet of paper with a sketch on it.
"You carried that around in your pocket?" John asked, smiling.
"Yeah. I grabbed it before I followed you, just in case." Jason said.
"I'll have my tailor look at it." John said.
He took the drawing, putting it on the batcomputer desk.
He then moved to a case, which he opened to reveal the Batsuit.
Although this batsuit was adjusted to fit John Blake's size, in looks it was the same as Bruce Wayne's. The only difference other than size was the addition of a raised yellow oval with the bat symbol raised upon that.
As he was getting dressed, he turned to the watching Jason.
"Get to bed. You can join me on patrol once your suit is done." He said.
"Ok. Goodnight."
Jason took the lift back upstairs, and then padded back to his room.
Chapter 2
A Week Later, Jason's suit was ready.
It was just as Jason had dreamed:
Red and green, with a black hooded cape, and a pair of red sunglasses that wrapped tightly around the back of Jason's head.
The symbol was a gold-rimmed circle with a raised golden bird head on a black field.
At ten o clock on his first night of patrol, Jason snuck down to the cave.
John was already waiting for him, dressed in the Batsuit, minus the cowl.
Moving quickly to the new costume case, installed by Blake's "tailor", Jason quickly donned his armor.
Pulling on his hood, he followed Batman to The New Batmobile.
Smaller than the Tumbler, The New Batmobile was black, sleek with blue headlights that resembled eyes, a white light coming from the cockpit.
It had a driver's seat and adjacent to that, a passenger/copilot seat.
Robin took his seat next to Batman in the copilot seat.
"You don't have to do anything unless we get into a chase." Batman said, adapting the growl that the First Batman had used.
The Turntable rotated to the entrance, the waterfall shut off, and the Batmobile roared into life.
They drove into Gotham, towards the shining Bat signal on GCPD's roof.
Batman grapnelled to the roof, and Robin followed suit.
In the week since Jason had been hired, John had been training him at every moment when he would not be missed from the Orphanage.
He had gotten quite adept in a week. Of course, he had to keep training when he wasn't on patrol.
He had also taken karate as a child, before his parents died, so he had the basic training.
They arrived on the roof, where Gordon was waiting.
Chapter 3
"A new gang has arisen in the Gotham Underworld, led by someone calling himself Black Mask."
"Any ID?"
"No. everyone he encounters dies. He relays his orders through someone he calls Number 1."
"I see. We'll look into it." Batman said.
"Who's the kid?"
"My partner." Batman said with a note of finality.
The Duo left.
In the Batmobile, Robin spoke up.
"The Black Mask…"
"Probably the worst inter-city crime wave since the Joker." Batman said.
"What about Bane?"
"Terrorist. The Joker was inter-city."
"Ok."
Suddenly, a shot fired from somewhere.
The Batmobile's wheel was shot out of whack.
The Batmobile skidded to a stop, and the duo leaped out.
Both of them switched on their night vision.
Scanning the roof, Robin caught sight of something.
"There! Sniper." He called quietly to The Batman.
"I got him." Batman growled.
He shot a line to the roof above where the sniper was crouched.
Robin followed suit.
Using their capes, they glided down behind the thug.
Batman grabbed the thug by the collar.
"WHERE IS BLACK MASK?" He demanded.
"I…don't know… I…I…I uh… no one except Number 1 sees him."
"WHERE IS NUMBER ONE?"
"He's in his lair, underneath First National."
Batman tossed him to the ground, knocking him out.
"Call Gordon on your wrist." He ordered Robin.
Robin did so, and then they leaped into the Batmobile.
The Wheel was self-repairing and had already resealed.
They raced to First National, which had been abandoned since The Joker's attack.
Batman kicked through the glass door and walked carefully inside, followed by the Boy Wonder.
Using flashlights, they searched for a hidden basement staircase.
"It's a Freakin' House of Anubis." Robin muttered.
Batman growled. Robin decided it was in agreement.
They split up by silent decision.
Suddenly Robin found something.
He called for his mentor, and then kicked down the door.
Batman led him down the stairs, where they found themselves surrounded by thugs.
"You've done well New Batman, but you know you're just a freak." A voice that chilled both Batman and Robin to their soul said.
The thugs parted and from the shadows stepped The Joker.
Looking the same as he had some 9 years ago, The Joker had added one thing to his uniform: on his lapel there was a silver number 1.
"I never thought you one to take orders Joker!" Batman growled.
"Black Mask helped me get out of jail. In return I'm his general. Eventually I'll take him out."
"Not if I can help it!" Batman growled.
"Right of course. You're in no position to stop me Batsy." Joker said.
He turned to Robin.
"Hey Kid you wanna know how I got these scars?"
Before Robin could respond, he started on a tirade:
"My father was a drinker and a fiend and one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that, not one bit. So, me watching he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me and he says "WHY SO SERIOUS!?" He comes at me with the knife "why so serious!?" Sticks the blade in my mouth "let's put a smile on that face!" aaaand….. Why sooooo serrrious?"
The Joker had approached Robin, pulled of his hood and was holding a knife to his lips.
"I don't care about those scars Joker. I'm going to give you a few more though!" Robin said.
He swiped the knife away.
He pushed the clown backwards, and then did a roundhouse kick into the Joker's groin.
The Joker fell down, unconscious.
"Good Job." Batman said.
Robin nodded, and then went into total ninja mode.
He took out the Joker's guard in thirty seconds.
He and Batman went back upstairs, then got in the Batmobile and drove back to the Bunker.
"All you alright?" Blake asked Robin as they undressed.
"Fine." Jason said.
"You handled the situation well." John said.
Jason nodded in thanks.
"I'm just glad I didn't get cut when I pushed him away." Jason said.
Blake nodded in agreement.
They finished changing, then went back to Blake's apartment
They showered, and then had microwave dinners.
After that they went to bed.
The next day was Jason's first day of real school since leaving the orphanage* He and Blake had decided that he would finish his 1st semester classes online, and then he would move to Gotham High.
*The Orphanage uses online schooling for their charges education.
Chapter 4
Jason walked nervously into his new High School.
He waved at John, who drove off to his new job, as a tech for Lucius Fox at Fox Tech, the former Wayne-Owned Company.
He walked into the office, where he was greeted by a kind elderly man.
"You must be Richard, the new kid." He said.
Jason nodded.
"That's me. I go by Jason though."
"Thanks for telling me Jason. I'm the student-principal liaison. If you ever have a problem, come to me. If you ever get in trouble for something you didn't or even something you did do, I'll be your attorney. If you ever need advice about girls that you can't talk to your guardian about… well come to me. I'm Monty by the way."
"Nice to meet you." Jason said.
Monty handed him a schedule, then led him to his locker, where he grabbed his pre-loaded books and then followed Monty to his first class.
The rest of his week went by without incident, until Friday after school.
When he went by the office to say goodbye to Monty. The old man's desk, on the surface did not look any different than it had in the morning.
Jason examined his desk for clues, and then he noticed a red liquid on the edge of the desk: Blood.
Pulling a flask out of his backpack, he scooped up as much of the blood as he could.
He quickly left the office, getting into Blake's car.
"What's wrong?" Blake asked.
"The Student-Principal Liaison is gone. There is blood evidence of a fight at his desk."
"And the Principal doesn't know?" Blake asked.
"It looked like a quite kidnapping. That man was very nice to me. Of course, everyone at the school was nice, but he was the first face I saw this morning. He helped me start a good day, and now he's gone."
"I understand. Monty was a good friend of mine when I was a kid too." Blake said.
"Really?" Jason asked.
Blake nodded.
"He was younger then, but I'm assuming he hasn't changed much." Blake said.
"I'm going after him." Jason decided.
"How? Do you have any leads besides blood?"
"No. does anyone know who we are?" Jason asked.
"Not that I know of." Blake said.
Suddenly, Jason's cell phone rang.
It was a text message from an unknown number:
If you want the old man back
You're going to have to be less serious.
Meet me tonight
Same time, same place.
Come alone or he dies
"It's from The Joker!" Jason said.
"How do you know?"
"The Joker always said 'why so serious.' In this message it tells me to be less serious.
"Good Detective work." Blake said.
"I'm going after him alone, tonight."
"Alone?"
"Yes. He'll kill Monty if I don't go alone."
"Fine. You can appear alone but I'll be there, watching from a distance."
"Good with me." Jason relented, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Blake otherwise.
Chapter 5
That night, Robin took a miniature Batpod, dubbed 'The Birdpod' from the Bunker to the bank.
He went in, took the stairs to the basement.
"Alright Joker, give me the old man!" He called.
There was no answer.
Robin thought he heard something approaching from behind, he turned.
He saw something flying towards his face, felt impact, and then all went black.
When he awoke, the first thing he noticed was that his mask was gone.
He opened his eyes and found himself sitting on a hard concrete floor. Beside him was his mask.
He tried to stand up, but couldn't.
He was handcuffed to a barrel of some sort.
His cape, gloves and boots were gone too.
He glanced beside him.
There, haggard and looking like death, was Monty.
He sighed, and then began messing with the wrist of his armor.
Inside was a lock pick.
He picked his handcuffs, and then stood up.
The floor was ice cold under his bare feet.
He walked to Monty, picked his lock and tried to wake the old man.
He was successful
"Jason?"
"Yeah Monty. It's me."
"You came after me? He said you would. But you shouldn't have."
"That's right Bird Boy!" The Joker said.
Jason turned, infuriated.
"What the heck are you planning creep?" Jason asked.
"I'm planning on wrecking Batman's life through you." The Joker said.
Then he laughed.
Monty stood up.
"I won't let you kill him!" He declared defiantly.
"Too Bad." Joker said.
From his pocket, he pulled a pistol and shot Monty in the heart.
Then he put the pistol away and pulled a crowbar from somewhere.
He pushed Jason down, onto his stomach.
"That looked painful."
He smacked the boy in the back.
Jason's feet shot in the air from the pain.
"That looked like it hurt." He said.
Then he hit him again.
"That looked like it hurt a lot more." Joker said.
"Which one hurts more? A"
WHACK
"Or B?"
WHACK
"C?"
"Or D?"
Suddenly the door to the prison broke open.
Batman stood there.
"Enough Joker." Batman said.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH A!" The Joker turned to Batman, and then threw a punch at him.
Batman caught it, then squeezed until his hand was broken.
"That was for Monty." Batman growled.
Then he looked at his partner.
He grabbed Joker by the hair.
"And this is for Robin!"
He slammed the Joker into the ground, breaking his nose.
"That's enough Batman!" Robin said.
He got up, his hair caked with blood.
He moved slightly, cracking his back.
"Are you ok?" Batman asked.
"Fine. Now." Jason said.
Using his foot, he kicked Joker around so he was lying on his back.
Planting his bare foot on the Joker's stomach, he stepped down with all his weight.
"And that's for everyone else you've ever killed." Jason said.
Batman carried The Joker out of the bank.
Robin, now with his mask back on carried Monty.
He quickly replaced his boots, gloves and cape before they left the bank.
As they exited the building, Joker woke up.
He opened his jacket and pulled out a trigger.
Jason was still on the steps when the Bank blew.
"ROBIN!" Batman cried, dropping the Joker.
Chapter 6
Batman watched the bank as it erupted into flames.
Jason was gone.
Or so Batman thought.
From the flames, his cape surrounding him, Robin walked without burning or further harming himself.
"Fox made the capes flameproof." He said.
"He also gave me this."
He pulled the breather off and tucked it into his belt.
"Thank God. Thank God." John said, breaking character for the first time since they had been patrolling together.
Jason smirked.
"My back kind of hurts..." he said.
"We'll look at it when we get to the Bunker." Blake promised.
They raced back to the Bunker.
Once there, Blake had Jason lie on a medical bench, shirt off.
His back was not broken, thankfully but it was bloody.
Blake bandaged Jason's back, and then hung up both of their armor.
"Jason we need to talk."
Jason sat up.
"About what?" he asked.
"As of right now, you are suspended from patrol as Robin."
"WHAT?" Jason demanded.
"I'm sorry but you're my legacy Jason. If you die before I do, there will be no trained successor."
"You can always train another one." Jason said.
"But I want you to succeed be Jason.
"I'm honored. I'm sorry I complained. Your right to suspend me. As long as it's temporary…"
"It will be I promise." Blake promised.
"So with The Joker out as Number 1, who are you going after now?"
"I don't know. Either a new Number 1 or Black Mask himself."
"Are you going alone?"
"Yes. You're suspended and I have no other partners to rely on."
"Fine. Go alone. If you'd like I'll stay here and be your ops manager?" Jason asked.
Blake nodded.
"You're suspended from the field; I suppose you don't have to stay completely out of the hero business." Blake said.
Chapter 7
Barbara Gordon sat at the dinner table with her brother Jimmy, waiting for their father to get home. It was the one week they were allowed to see him per the custody agreement and he was, of course at work
Minutes passed.
Hours passed.
It was 11:30 PM when Jimmy had fallen asleep on the couch.
Barbara sighed, and then started for bed.
It was at that point she changed her mind. Her father, although he worked late never worked THIS late
From her closet she pulled a Batman hoodie complete with cowl.
She pulled the hoodie over a tank top, pulled the cowl over her eyes and snapped her homemade cape to her back.
For pants she wore tights, and for boots she wore Uggs.
Then she snapped on a custom utility belt, filled with gas pellets.
She left a note for her brother, and then slipped out the back window.
Batgirl walked down the street, staying in the shadows.
She had been waiting for an opportunity to go out in this costume since she had arrived back in Gotham that Monday, and each night she had prepared a little more:
Making her cape
Buying the hoody
Making the belt.
She walked to the edge of a building and leapt up to the fire escape, then she climbed it to the top and made a dash across the rooftops towards the center of the city where she could wait for Batman's patrol.
Chapter 8
Batman was on the trail of The Black Mask.
He had found a series of clues, starting with the bank's wreckage, where he examined the roasted corpse of some of Black Mask's men.
Inside one man's pocket was a
VOTE FOR GARCIA sticker.
"Mayor Garcia…" Batman muttered.
He thought The Mayor had been killed in the explosion set by Bane. Maybe not.
"Robin, see where Mayor Garcia is interred." He ordered.
Over the comm, Robin told him that the Mayor was supposedly buried in Gotham North Cemetery.
Batman made his way to the spot where the Mayor was supposed to be.
He kneeled at the grave.
ANTHONY GARCIA
FATHER
HUSBAND
MAYOR
"It's a fitting epitaph." A Man said.
Batman spun around to see a man, dressed in a white suit standing above him
He stood to his full height, and then saw it:
The Black Mask.
The only thing Batman could see of the underneath was the whites of Black Mask's eyes.
Other than that, and possibly the sound of a respirator, the graveyard was silent.
"Who are you?" Batman asked.
"I was once Mayor Anthony Garcia. During Bane's insurrection the original Batman failed to save my life. I did survive, somehow. However the doctors were not able to restore me to my good looks. Instead they gave me prosthetic limbs, organs and a respirator. The Mask was my own touch. It was then that I decided I would get my revenge on the only Batman I had access to: You. So I broke The Joker out of jail and had him murder your boy. Unfortunately he failed. He's back in prison now, but, like all good revenge-crazy men I had a plan B: Commissioner Gordon. You'll never find him alive, so it doesn't matter me telling you this, but once he is dead, the city will see you as a failure and a villain. When they do, they will corner you.
I will step out at this point, and I will shoot you in the gut.
I will be seen as a hero, and will be restored to office, despite my looks."
"You're insane!" Batman said.
Black Mask laughed.
"I suppose." He said.
Then he walked off, leaving Batman with a sense of hopelessness.
"They're going to kill my Dad and your just sitting there!" a female voice said.
Batman spun around.
Standing there was a red head in a homemade Batman costume.
"Barbara?" He asked in Blake's voice.
"Blake?" she had met him once while he was still a cop.
"Come with me." He said.
They got in the Batmobile and raced to the Bunker.
Chapter 9
Jason heard the Batmobile pulling in.
He spun around, standing up to greet his mentor.
The Batmobile parked.
Jason was more focused on the Batmobile's passenger than the reason for her being there.
She was, from what he could see under her homemade costume, beautiful.
She pulled off her mask.
"I'm Barbara." She said.
Jason shook her hand.
"Jason…" He managed nervously.
Batman had taken his cowl off and was now seated at the Batcomputer.
"Black Mask is Former Mayor Garcia." He told Jason.
Jason nodded in understanding.
"And the girl?" He muttered.
"She's hunting her father." Blake told him.
"I've sent a female armor request to Fox." Blake told Barbara.
Jason, Blake, and Barbara left for their respective homes a short while later.
They dropped Barbara off, and then went back to Blake's apartment.
Jason took a shower, put on clean boxers, and then went to bed.
The next morning, Jason went to school.
Before he got out of the car he asked:
"How are you going to tell them that The Joker killed their liaison because he was friends with Robin?"
"Batman will visit the principal later today and come up with an explanation."
"Ok."
Jason made his way to his first class, where he found a surprise:
Barbara Gordon was sitting next to him.
"My mother said I could stay with my father and that she'd take my brother." She explained.
Jason nodded.
"Where will you stay?" Jason asked.
"Blake offered his guest bedroom."
"That's where I sleep."
"He said he has two."
"Oh."
"Disappointed?" she asked, smiling
"What? No!"
She laughed.
"Drake, Gordon the two of you need to stay after class." The Teacher said.
They did, and the teacher lectured them about talking through announcements.
"The next time you have detention. You have been warned."
They went through the rest of their days without incident.
When they returned to Blake's car, he took them to the Bat Bunker where the teens did their Homework and Blake worked on the Case File.
At around 5, Alfred brought them a pizza.
At around 6, Barbara suited up in her new armor:
It was black, just like Blake's with just a couple of changes:
The yellow bat symbol
And a different mask shape to allow for her hair.
Batman and Batgirl climbed into the Batmobile and raced off to hunt for Gordon.
Jason sighed. He was already sick of this suspension.
His back was healed. The bandages had been taken off during the lag time between school and patrol.
He sighed. Blake was going to give him Heck to pay if he broke suspension, but he was sure that it would take three to take down Black Mask.
With a last thought of how he was going to late regret this, he suited up and revved his Birdpod for patrol, racing out into the night.
Batgirl was the first to notice the Birdpod leaving The Bunker.
"Is that Robin?" Batgirl asked.
Batman grunted.
"Are you going to shock him? Disable his bike? Reverse him back to the Bunker."
"Nothing." Batman said.
The ride sank into silence.
They arrived at the Mayor's old house.
"Garcia's wife moved when she thought her husband was killed" Batman said.
"You think he might have come back here?" Jason asked
"It's only Logical." Batgirl said.
"I hate Star Trek" Robin said.
"Ha ha!" she said.
The Titanic Trio entered the house.
"Split up. You two stay together."
"Fine." They replied and went off in the other direction.
Suddenly a figure appeared out of the darkness, grabbed Batgirl and Robin and dragged them off in some unknown direction before they could scream.
Batman heard the children scream. Flipping on his night vision lenses in his mask, he searched for Jason and Barbara.
He then switched to heat.
There were three signatures in the basement.
He quickly rushed down the stairs.
The lights were on in the basement.
Standing in front of Robin and Batgirl was Black Mask. In a cage nearby was Gordon.
"Stop this Garcia!" Batman ordered.
Black Mask laughed.
"You are not my mother or my father, Batman." He pulled out a pistol. Then he turned to Gordon and fired twice, once in the groin and once in the chest.
"Commissioner!" Barbara cried.
"You're next Little Lady." Black Mask said. He fired the pistol into her back. She went slack.
This enraged Robin.
He flipped Black Mask over his shoulders, sending the gun flying away.
Then he stepped down on Black Mask's groin. Hard.
"You're done Mask!" he said.
Then he pulled out his bo staff and stabbed it into Mask's gut.
Mask cried out as sparks flew from his stomach.
Then the red eyes of his mask went dark.
Mayor Garcia, The Black Mask was dead.
Chapter 10
The Gordons both survived their ordeal. The Commissioner was off duty for an unofficial amount of time.
Barbara was off duty permenately. She was now wheelchair bound, unable to fight.
She was, however given permission by Batman to continue operating with him and Robin. As Oracle, she would live and work in The Batcave.
Batman and Robin stood on a rooftop, watching over the city.
Suddenly a figure flew upward from Metropolis, the city across the bay.
The figure flew up to the moon, then down toward the Dynamic Duo.
It was Superman.
"Batman. It's good to finally meet you." Superman said.
"Superman. Yes. It is."
Jason sighed. This meeting obviously had nothing to do with him.
Silently he slipped back into the alleyway where the Batmobile and his motorcycle were parked. He got on and rode off to the Batcave.
"What do you need Superman?" Batman asked.
"I know the weight of Gotham is already on your shoulders, but I need the help of you and your partner."
"Why?"
"There's something coming to earth. Something big. Something none of Earth's heroes can take on alone. Only together can we defeat this threat."
Batman sighed, then extended a hand.
"Alright. I'll join your fight." He said.
Superman smiled.
"Good. We gather up there in a week's time." He said.
He pointed to some sort of space station in the sky.
"How am I supposed to get there?" Batman asked.
"There's a teleporter in the Batcave." Superman said.
"Didn't Bruce tell you?"
Batman gasped.
Bruce Wayne was alive…
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I worked a long time on this, please only comment positively or constructively criticize
-Writer215
P.S.
I apologize for not seperating into chapters, this is my second fic and i don't know how to break it into chapters